Niger State governor, Mohammed Bago, has called for the adoption of Hausa as the medium of instruction in primary and secondary schools across Northern Nigeria.
Speaking at the National Literary Colloquium, which was held on Tuesday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of literary icon, BM Dzukogi, founder of the Hilltop Arts Foundation, Bago said this move would tackle the region’s high rate of out-of-school children and encourage greater enrolment in formal education.
The Governor highlighted the importance of language in education. He urged other northern States governors to review the education curriculum and adopt Hausa as the language of teaching in the region, saying it would address the school enrolment problem in the region.
According to him, “The North has the problem of school enrolment; and we, as leaders of the region, must find a solution to this problem, so that our children can be educated. I suggest that the English language should only be taught in primary and secondary schools in the North as a subject, but not as a language of instruction.
“I urge my colleagues in the region to review the education curriculum and adopt Hausa as the language of teaching in the region. This will go a long way to inspire enrolment and facilitate understanding among pupils and students. The northern governors should consider adopting it to reduce the rate of out-of-school children”, he stressed.
Bago also urged parents to equip their children with books and other valuable reading materials to broaden their faculty of thinking, saying, “Promoting reading culture is one of the best ways to save future generations from the current societal degeneration”.
He assured that the State government would collaborate with the Hilltop Arts Foundation to promote reading culture in the country, and disclosed that his administration plans to merge some schools to have vocational training, as a way of fostering teaching and learning of skills.
The event took place at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre, Minna.
